TY - JOUR
T1 - The intergenerational effects of a large wealth shock
T2 - White southerners after the civil war
AU - Ager, Philipp
AU - Boustan, Leah
AU - Eriksson, Katherine
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 American Economic Association. All rights reserved.
PY - 2021/11
Y1 - 2021/11
N2 - The nullification of slave wealth after the US Civil War (1861-1865) was one of the largest episodes of wealth compression in history. We document that White Southern households that owned more slaves in 1860 lost substantially more wealth by 1870, relative to Southern households that had been equally wealthy before the war. Yet, their sons almost entirely recovered from this wealth shock by 1900, and their grandsons completely converged by 1940. Marriage networks and connections to other elite families may have aided in recovery, whereas transmission of entrepreneurship and skills appear less central.
AB - The nullification of slave wealth after the US Civil War (1861-1865) was one of the largest episodes of wealth compression in history. We document that White Southern households that owned more slaves in 1860 lost substantially more wealth by 1870, relative to Southern households that had been equally wealthy before the war. Yet, their sons almost entirely recovered from this wealth shock by 1900, and their grandsons completely converged by 1940. Marriage networks and connections to other elite families may have aided in recovery, whereas transmission of entrepreneurship and skills appear less central.
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U2 - 10.1257/AER.20191422
DO - 10.1257/AER.20191422
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85119437369
SN - 0002-8282
VL - 111
SP - 3767
EP - 3794
JO - American Economic Review
JF - American Economic Review
IS - 11
ER -